NHTSA Complaint #10142547 — 2005 CARRIAGE CAMEO

1. JUNE 28, 2005, I PURCHASED A 5TH WHEEL WITH GOODYEAR MARATHON TIRES, ST235/80-R16, LOAD RANGE "D". AUGUST 9,2005, I BLEW A TIRE ON THE 5TH WHEEL, WHILE TRAVELING IN WYOMING. IN LATE SEPTEMBER, ALL FOUR RIMS WERE REPLACED "UNDER WARRANTY. IN LATE SEPTEMBER, I BLEW A SECOND TIRE WHICH WAS MOUNTED ON THE NEW ALUMINUM RIMS. THE GVWR OF THE TRAILER IS 14,100. THE TRAILER WAS WEIGHED IN JULY AS HAVING 10,580 POUNDS ON THE REAR TWO AXELS. HITCH WEIGHT IS 2,700 POUNDS. FOR A 13,340 POUND ACTUAL TRAILER WEIGHT. (LAST YEAR I OWNED ANOTHER 5TH WHEEL WHICH ALSO EXPERIENCED A LARGE BUBBLE ON THE SIDEWALL OF A NEW MARATHON ST 235/80-R16 TIRE.) 2. GOODYEAR TIRE ANALYZED BOTH TIRES AND TOLD ME THAT FAILURE WAS DUE TO " THE CONDITION FOUND IS THE RESULT OF OPERATION FOLLOWING A LOSS OF AIR PRESSURE. NO WORKMANSHIP OR MATERIAL RELATED CONDITION WAS FOUND TO HAVE CAUSED THE INITIAL AIR LOSS. WE HEARD THE TWO TIRES BLOW! THE THIRD TIRE THEY WARRANTED. ALSO, THE GOODYEAR MARATHON, ST 235/80-R16 IS A 65 MPH "MAX SPEED RATING" TIRE. THERE IS NO WARNING IN THE OWNERS MANUAL THAT STATES THAT IF YOU HAVE GOODYEAR ST 235/80-R16 TIRES ON YOUR 5TH WHEEL, THE MAXIMUM SPEED SHOULD NOT EXCEED 65 MPH. YOU COUPLE THIS WITH THE MAX GVWR OF THE TRAILER AND YOU HAVE CERTAIN TIRE FAILURE. ESPECIALLY, IF THE VEHICLE IS ON THE ROAD FOR 6-10 HOURS, IN THE HEAT OF THE DAY, AND EXPERIENCING HEAVY TRUCK ROAD DAMAGE. (IE MISSING PAVEMENT, POTHOLES, BRIDGE BUMPS, RUTS, ETC) 3. THE "TIRE CO." ISSUE A RECALL, IN OCTOBER, FOR THE RIMS. HOWEVER, MY TRAILER IS NOT ON THE RECALL LIST. ALSO, I BELIEVE THE TIRES ON MY 5TH WHEEL SHOULD HAVE A LOAD RANGE RATING OF "E" OR "G" AND NOT A LOAD RANGE RATING OF "D", AS I HAVE NOW AND THE TIRES SHOULD NOT HAVE A MAXIMUM SPEED RATING OF 65 MPH UNLESS THE MANUFACTURER CLEARLY STATES THAT 65 MPH SHOULD NOT BE EXCEEDED. *NM